Chanelle Brennan provided the offense with a sweltering 33-point, five-rebound performance and the Pirates banded together with their brand of defense to beat Fullerton, 59-47, in the state championship game.

Kris King and Amanda Padilla had eight points apiece and Gabrielle Conn had 12 rebounds as Ventura (34-1) earned its record sixth state championship on county soil, eight years after its previous banner, by holding powerful Fullerton (32-2) to 27.9 percent shooting.

"We put it back on the map," said Padilla. "Ventura College has another championship ... and it's great to be a part of it."

Scanning from 5-foot-5 Padilla to 5-foot-11 King, Ventura may not seem like an imposing defense to the naked eye. But the Pirates were the top defense in the state statistically, before proving they were also the top team Sunday.

"Height isn't everything," said King. "We have heart."

A year after racing unbeaten to a Final Four loss to eventual champion Pasadena City, Ventura's sophomore class earned redemption, as the 11-player roster joined a select sisterhood of 50 former players with special jewelry.

"After losing last year in the Final Four," said Ward, "this state championship means the world to us."

After a pair of 34-1 seasons, the six sophomores completed their VC careers a stellar 68-2, the second best record in school history behind the Class of 1997 (71-1).

The 12-point margin of victory was the largest of the program's six state final wins.

"It's like a dream come true," said Ward. "I can't express what it means to me."

Destainee Hollis-Rudison had eight points, Taiyande Huskey had seven points and five other players had six points for Fullerton (32-2), which went undefeated against its schedule, save two losses to Ventura.

Brennan, the Most Valuable Player, was joined on the all-tournament team by Padilla, Huskey and Danielle Ekno of Fullerton, Mone Peoples and Marlee Rice of San Francisco and Charlene Popoff of Santa Rosa.

Padilla splashed a 3-pointer and Ward found Brennan for a 3-point play as Ventura, to the roaring approval of the partisan crowd, scored the first 10 points.

But Fullerton coach Debi Woelke turned to her loaded bench to take a lead with a 16-5 run on Hollis-Rudison's high-low pass for Ebony McClain to finish.

"Their second group is as good as most teams' first group," said Ventura coach Ned Mircetic. "They're the deepest team in the state. They can throw so many different looks at you. It took us a while to adjust."

Conn had struggled to find consistent playing time after pulling down 18 rebounds in a game during the first weekend of the season.

"That's honestly what I wanted to do," said Conn. "I'm a dominant rebounder and that's my role on this team."

The 5-foot-9 freshman piled up 21 rebounds in the semifinal and final.

"Those were big rebounds," said Mircetic. "Those were hard-fought rebounds."

Padilla's last-second 3-pointer bounced in to give the Pirates a 22-21 halftime lead.

It was never relinquished as Brennan scored 13 of her points in Ventura's banner-raising 17-5 run, bookended by two rare Brennan 3s, which lifted the Pirates ahead 49-36 with 8:07 to play.

The Ventura High product had 11 3s in the previous 34 games.

"She had an unbelievable weekend," said Ward of Brennan. "We're blessed to have her as a teammate."

Fouled while dribbling out the clock, sophomore guard Brenda Van Someren stood at the free-throw line, focused on the rim, as the celebration erupted on the VC bench.

"They were already jumping up and down on the bench," said Van Someren. "I had to make them."

As the team gathered in the locker room for a final "We Play Hard" chant, the coaches reminded the players to celebrate safely.

But title-winning teamwork apparently doesn't end with the championship season.